That is how a leading executive from a well-known European car manufacturer described the feeling of enthusiasm and eagerness that comes over anyone used to driving combustion engine cars when they drive an electric car for the first time, even if only for a few days. It’s a healthy addiction that is hard to shake off, as I myself have experienced, because it opens the doors to a new way of understanding and enjoying the driving experience.
Do you like driving (electric vehicles)? If you’re not sure yet, then it’s high time you took one for a spin because there are a significant number of attractive models by fully solvent manufacturers available on the market. Car-sharing provides an excellent opportunity: the possibility of renting an electric vehicle per hour.
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Iberdrola was and is a pioneer in Spain in the provision of charging services for public electric car-sharing projects. Guipúzcoa and Navarre were the first regions where these projects were rolled out.
We did not limit ourselves to providing charging services. In Pamplona, some of our customers’ electricity bills included a pilot scheme offer enabling them to avail of electric car-sharing at a very attractive price: just €2/hour to book and drive an electric car in the city.
Iberdrola was the first Spanish electric utility to offer its customers this innovative service.
Iberdrola also offers a similar service to the members of its retail team for visiting customers in five Spanish cities. Not only is this advantageous in terms of comfort and sustainability, by reducing pollutant emissions in the cities where this scheme is run; it also reduces the costs incurred in work-related travel and promotes an image of our company that is linked to innovation and sustainable mobility.
To provide some figures linked to our initiatives, I would like to highlight that the Pamplona project has around 200 registered users, who have travelled almost 3,000 km. Iberdrola’s corporate service travels about 15,000 km per year on average, with 3,000 bookings and 13,500 hours of use, thereby avoiding the emission of some 8 tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
But this is only the beginning. Not only are we going to see new ways of understanding mobility in cities thanks to public electric car-sharing schemes, which will often make it possible for people to do without buying their own cars (thereby reducing harmful emissions and traffic congestion and bringing down expenditure on parking tickets); we are going to be able to drive new models of cars, because this service will give drivers the chance to get to know them better and be carried away by this unshakeable feeling.
So far, the following models are available: BMWi3, Renault ZOE and Nissan LEAF. The Volkswagen eUP and the GOLF-e are expected to be launched in 2014. These vehicles are eager to take over a considerable share of the market, encouraged by public grants and the financial savings they provide to some urban and suburban users, such as members of the general public and corporate fleets in major cities.
Paris is a case in point. In the French capital and environs, there are already over 100,000 members in the AUTOLIB electric car-sharing system, with over 2,000 cars, 10,000 daily bookings and over 26,000,000 km travelled so far by the residents of Paris. However, it’s not the only example and other American and European cities are following suit.
Earlier than you might think, the know-how of the leading makes and the various initiatives being organised will make it possible for you to try out an electric vehicle yourself. When you do, you’ll be powerless against the feeling of innovation, peace of mind and sustainability that an electric vehicle adds to the classic features of speed, acceleration and comfort. Iberdrola will be actively involved, offering energy and innovative solutions that will help to make electric mobility a reality.
Let yourself be carried away!
